The prior art is replete with systems for scanning a document and printing a reproduction of the document. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,627 discloses a scanner system for an ink jet printer capable of producing a copy without intermediate data storage or processing using an incremental drive to move a carriage. U.S. Pat. No. 3,832,484 discloses a method for reproducing a mirror image of a copy comprising a scanning head moving in a synchronized manner. The mirror image is produced one elemental area at a time on a record medium.
A difficulty with prior art systems is that they are generally relatively complex and costly requiring large memory buffers or character generating circuits.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved scanning and print system. It is another object of the present invention to provide a single drive to move a scanner in a first direction simultaneously with the movement of a print head in a second direction to reproduce the image on a copy sheet. It is another object of the present invention to provide a scanning and printing system driven by a single drive system wherein the scanning and printing can be performed asynchronously. Further objects of the present invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and the features characterizing the invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.